Rural mail-box.



A. SCHUBERT.

RURAL MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29.1917.

IL ,%%&11? l Patented Nov, 2?, 1917.

ALFRED SCI-IUI BERT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RURAL MAIL-BOX.

eeann.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. as, rare.

Application filed. June 29, 1917. Serial No. 177,731.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED SCHUBERT, a citizenof the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rural Mail-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full', clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. p

This invention relates to rural mail boxes, and it has for an object to provide an indication for such structures which will be exposed upon operation of the receiving opening closure, and which is reset when the closure of the discharge opening is actuated.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a cupola construction which maybe an integral part of a mail box, or which may be added to the present type of boxes, and having an indication movable therein which is actuated and reset by operation of the closures for the receiving and discharging openings.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a movable indication or target which is actuated by movement of the closures for the receiving and discharging openings, and having this indication disposed for giving a display in opposite directions from within a cupola.

Further objects will be apparent from the following specification, appended claims, and drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of the mail box,

Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view therethrough, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the indicator and its associated parts removed.

This type of device is one which is placed at a distance from a house, or beside the roadway, and to avoid the necessity of the owner inconveniencing himself by taking frequent glances in the box, provision is made which will clearly indicate from a distance whether or not the box contains mail for the owner. The box is provided with the usual receiving opening and discharge opening, which have closures in the form of doors, and when these closures are actuated. movement is imparted to an indicator.

Referring to the drawings in which the several parts are clearly shown, 10 indicates formed therein which serve as visual openings for the indicator. 1?. This indicator is carriedby the shaft 18 and a spring 19 coiled about a portion of the shaft 18 normally maintains the indicator in raised or exposed position. .An arm 20 is formed on the indicator, and this arm engages behind a spring 21 carried by the weighted and swinging lever 22-movably mounted on the stud 23. The

spring 21 permits the arm 20 to be moved freely beyond the tripping arm of the lever 22 in one direction, but restricts its movement in the reverse direction. A flexible connector 24 is attached to the weighted arm of the lever 22, and to the closure 11. By this connector, the lever 22 is swung to overcome the weight and in its swinging movement, the arm 20 is released and then, the spring 19 swings the indicator to raised position.

An arm 25 is also formed on the indicator and this arm receives one end of the flexible connector 26 which passes over the eyelet 27 in the box, to the eyelet 28 carried by the closure 12. By this connection, movement of the closure 12 as to remove the contents of the box will draw the connector 26 taut and then the indicator will be swung to inoperative position at which time the arm 20 will engage behind the spring 21. The connector 2 1 is shown as attached to the eyelet 29 on the inner face of the closure 11.

The door 12 may have the pocket 30 formed therein to receive a name plate for indicating the owner of the box.

It is evident from the foregoing that the cupola with its associated parts may be made separate, and applied to any of the mail boxes of this type now in use, and it is also evident that a spring actuated pawl may be substituted for the weighted lever shown with equally good results.

No limitation is implied by the showing of the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only, and it is thought that the operation of the several parts is clear from the foregoing description.

Having thus described this invention, I claim:

1. A rural mail box having receiving and removal openings, closures for said openings, a spring actuated indicator carried by said box, a weighted trip to hold said indicator in concealed position against the action of a spring, a flexible releasing connector between the closure for said receiving opening and said weighted trip, and a flexible resetting connector between a portion of said spring actuated indicator and the closure for said removal opening.

2. In a rural mail box, a closure forthe receiving opening, a flexible releasing connector attached to said closure, a pivoted lever carried inside of said box, having a weighted end, a spring trip carried by' said lever, a spring actuated indicator in said box, a locking arm formed 011 said indicator to engage said spring trip, a resetting arm carried by said indicator, a flexible resetting connector attached to said resetting arm, and a closure for the removal opening having connection with said resetting connector.

3. A rural mail box comprising a closure for thereceiving opening, being mounted for swinging motion, a flexible releasing connector attached to said closure, a pivoted lever carriedflby said box having a weighted end, said flexible releasing connector being attached to said weighted end, a spring trip carried by said lever being yieldable in one direction, a spring actuated indicator hingedly mounted in said box, mounted to swing to exposed'position, a spring to normally raise said indicator for exposure, a locking arnr carriedby said indicator to engage said spring trip, a resetting'arm carried by said "indicator, a flexible resetting connector attached to said resetting arm, a guide in said box to receive said resetting connector, a closure for the removal opening, being hingedly carried by said box, said closure for said removal opening having at tachment with said resetting connector, and a cupola formed'onsaid box in which said indicator swings for exposure through windows in the sides of said cupola.

In testimony whereof I aflixmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED SCHUBERT. lVitnesses:

JOS H F. SKIFFINGTON, MAY Eaonrnnmar.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing t commissioner of ratentso washingto ncy V V 

